MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA & FRAMINGHAM, MA – September 27, 2010 – Appcelerator(®), the leading platform for rapidly developing native mobile, desktop, and iPad applications using web technologies, and industry-leading analyst firm International Data Corporation (IDC), today announced results from a joint Appcelerator-IDC survey of nearly 2,400 app developers around the world. The survey reveals developer plans to build applications for various mobile and tablet platforms, as well as their preferences for popular mobile APIs. Appcelerator also announced that it has entered into a partnership with IDC to deepen the level and quality of research conducted in Appcelerator’s quarterly reports.

Taken September 14-16, the Appcelerator-IDC Q4 Mobile Developer Report shows that Appcelerator Titanium developers favor Android over iOS in TVs and other embedded devices. The survey also provides fresh insight into the emerging “war of the Mobile Web 2.0 SDKs” between popular social, advertising, commerce, media, and other web-based APIs that are now shaping the mobile application landscape. This report is posted on: http://bit.ly/appcelerator_idc_q4_mobile_developer_report [http://bit.ly/appcelerator_idc_q4_mobile_developer_report].

Google’s Strategic Lead Lies Beyond Phones

In a similar survey taken this past June, Appcelerator found that while Apple leads in iPhone/iPad interest, developers favor Android in the long-term. In its latest survey, Appcelerator and IDC dug deeper into the reasons behind this claim to uncover Android’s strategic advantage. Below are key findings:

* 72% of developers say Android “is best positioned to power a large number and variety of connected devices in the future”, compared to 25% for iOS. As a result, 59% of developers now favor Android’s long-term outlook, vs. 35% for iOS.This gap has widened 10 points since the June survey.

* However, Apple iOS continues to dominate in all categories relating to market/revenue opportunity and current devices. iPhone continues to lead overall developer sentiment with 91% saying they are "very interested" in developing for the device compared to 82% for Android phones.

* Developers show enthusiasm for connected TVs, with 44% saying they are ‘very interested’ in developing for Google TV vs. 40% for Apple TV. Explained Scott Ellison, VP Mobile & Wireless, IDC, “Apps are poised to help remake the television viewing experience just as they have remade the mobile experience. Television needs new and more effective ways to create immersive experiences, engage audiences with advertisers, integrate social networks, and drive viewership of original broadcasts,” he added. “The television players who most effectively integrate app developers into their connected TV strategies are poised to potentially remake the television experience as we know it.”

* Android tablets are poised for developer lift-off: At 62% expressing strong interest, Android has similar enthusiasm to the iPad at an analogous point in time (last January pegged iPad at 58%). This is great news for Android tablet device OEMs. On the other end, new research shows webOS and BlackBerry tablets currently have little interest from developers (16% for both), indicating HP, RIM, and other tablet platform challengers need to generate significant developer enthusiasm well in advance of upcoming launches.

* Fragmentation remains a key concern for Google, with 74% of developer respondents describing iOS as "least fragmented" but only 11% describing Android as such.

Results of First-Ever Mobile Web 2.0 Developer Research

With over 4,000 applications now powered by Appcelerator Titanium – one of the most extensive mobile APIs on the market – developers are making significant use of third-party social, commerce, advertising, messaging, media, and analytic APIs. Below are top-line findings that reveal battles going on behind-the-scenes between these popular developer plug-ins (% of respondents say they currently use or will soon use the following APIs in a mobile application):

Social:

* Facebook slightly leading Twitter 65% to 60%, with Foursquare trailing at 22%. Appcelerator’s direct experience shows Facebook having a key strategic advantage in its popularity as a primary identity system for mobile applications.Commerce:

* iOS in-app purchasing and PayPal payments are also locked 49% to 48% in a head-to-head battle for mobile commerce leadership. Of note, PayPal is nearly as popular as Google Checkout (33%) and Amazon (18%) combined. PayPal also leads iOS in developer popularity in Europe and Asia.Media:

* Use of the camera (58%) far exceeds use of popular photo sharing services Flickr (21%) and TwitPic (19%). Stronger interest in using the camera for barcode scanning (31%) and augmented reality (41%) shows developers have bigger plans for mobile phones than simple photo sharing.Advertising:

* Application analytics (54%) is currently the most popular form of analytics, however there is strong interest in transaction (42%) and geo-analytics (35%) as location and commerce take center stage in mobile.

The Future of Apps: Native Apps Lead Mobile Web

Four out of five developers say their users prefer native applications to mobile websites because of user experience expectations. When ranking features needed for their apps, developers prioritize native features as most important (% of developers using or planning to use feature):